Can holder



May 10, 1960 E. E. MUNKACHY 2,936,068

CAN HOLDER Filed Aug. 29, 1957 (FIG. 5

\ (Heiz) m; (FeG. 3)

4 i SURFACE INVENTOR.

By ELMER E. MUNKAGHY at...) di

Ufd Sttte Pafeiif i CAN HOLDER Elmer E. Munkachy, Bay Village, Ghia`Application August 29, 1.957, Serial No. 680,943 2 Claims. (20G-46)This Y. invention relates to holding devices andA more particularly to.a support for supporting and holding a container.

As is well known to those versed in the art, it is common practice forvarious beverages, as well as other materials, to ,be packaged in cans,which most commonly comprise a cylindrical side wall and circular endwalls secured to the side walls by beads, although in some instances thebeads may not be very predominant. The above practice is particularlycommon in the packaging of beer and other beverages.

It is frequently desirable to leave the product in the container becauseit is normally cooler in that container. When this product is being usedit is also common to provide coasters when the container is set upon thetable.

The problem arises due to the fact that coasters are not alwaysavailable and if available are not always used. Furthermore, even with acoaster the -cold container is touched by the hands which isundesirable, since it moistens the hands and alsoV since it helps towarm its contents.

By the present invention I have provided a device which is extremelycheap to manufacture and therefore may be shipped with the containers asa premium, thus making the product preferable to one not containing thedevice.

Briefly, the invention contemplates an open ended polygonal box-likesupport having provision made at one end for engagement with andsupporting of the container above the surface which supports thesupport. Preferably the support is provided with foldable handles whichmay be moved outwardly and be grasped by the user and the use of whichenables the support to more securely grasp the container.

Still other advantages of the invention and the invention itself willbecome more apparent from the following description of the embodimentthereof which is illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

|In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the support without the container, readyto receive the container;

Fig. 2 is a view of a blank from which the support is made prior tofolding to form the support of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view of the container in a partially folded condition;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the support andshowing fragment of the bottom of thecan in position and the supportresting on a surface; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view of a modification thereof. Y As best shownin Fig. 2, the support comprises a plurality of side walls 10, 11, 12and 13 hingedly connected to each other at score lines 14. At one end, atab 15 is provided which may lap over the wall I13 and be securedthereto by an adhesive, as best shown in Figs. l and 3. As can be seenfrom Fig. 1 this provides an open ended box-like structure ofrectangular cross-section. At this time it should be pointed out thatalthough four Walls provides a preferable construction, six or morewalls are contemplated and in some instances it may be made with as fewas two walls in the form of an envelope.

ICC

Adjacent the bottom of the container there is provided slots 20extending transversely across the walls and of a heighth preferablyslightly greater than the end bead of a can. These slots are spaced fromthe bottom edges of the Walls and may be of various heighths above thebottom edges but preferably should be relatively close thereto butsufficiently highly spaced thereabove that, when the container is in thesupport, the bottom of the container will be well above the supportingsurface as illustrated in Fig. 4.

Two of the wallsare preferably providedwith C- shaped cutouts 30whichmay be pushed outwardly, as shown in Fig. l, to provide handles.The ends of the leg of the C, as shown by the dotted lines at 31, areuncut but scored so that the handles may be moved outwardly past thecorner 14 and juxtaposed to each other.

The support can be made of any material such as paper, cardboard orplastic. It is desirable that the spacing of the walls, in its assembledcondition, be such that the opposite walls are spaced apart a distanceless than the diameter of the can at the bead, thus, being of iiexiblematerial, a can may be easily moved downward into the support the beadforcing the walls outward until it finally reaches the slots 20 at whichtime the walls, due to their resiliency, move inwardly and the bead isengaged in the slot, as best shown in Fig. 4, wherein the wall of thecan is indicated at 35 and the bead at'36. In this position the can issupported above the surface of the table or other surface upon which thesupport may rest.

When the handles 30 are moved outward to a position for utilization, thegrasping of the handles tends to pull the opposite Iwalls inward and tomore securely engage the can.

I also contemplate that the body of the container may be made of alaminated pasteboard structure, at least on the sides l2 and 13, so thatafter the handles 30 are moved outward there is still a complete closurefor the can. Preferably the height of the support is such that the canextends Well above the top edge of the support so that the character ofthe beverage contained in the can may be readily observed. The sidesurfaces of the support provide a space which may be decorated in anysuitable manner or provided with some form of advertising.

When assembled from the blank of Fig. 2, the support may be folded tothe position in Fig. 3 and thus a relatively small space for shippingpurposes is utilized. I contemplate that since cans of beverages areusually sold in packages of six that such packages also be provided withsix supports, enclosed with the package.

Although I have shown the bead engaging portions of the support as beingslots of appreciable Width, I also contemplate that the results could beobtained if the slots were merely slits. In this instance, the upperportion 12 an 10' of the support would be forced outwardly and the bead36 of the can would rest on the bottom wall 10" which could bereinforced if desired with a narrow band 37 of a similar material,making it slightly less resilient than the walls 10 and 12. It should beappreciated that the part 37 could be` omitted, especially if the slit20' 4was made slightly longer than shown in Fig. 2.

Having thus described my invention, I am aware that numerous andextensive departures may be made therefrom without departing from thespirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A support containing a can comprising a plurality of upstanding sidewalls of generally rectangular shape forming a box-like structure openat its upper and lower ends, said 4side walls being integrally joinedtogether with one of said sid'e walls having a laterally projecting endedge extension overlapping the marginal end edge of the adjacent sidewall and xedly secured thereto forming a band, the last mentioned sidewall and the next adjacent side wall each having a handle member rigidtherewith, each handle member being of U-shaped configuration and beingjoined only at the extremity of its legs to its corresponding side wall,the extremities of said legs of each handle member being joined to thecorresponding side wall along a line spaced from the edge defined' bythe juncture between the two side walls having the handles, wherebygrasping of the two handles will tend to further grip the can, and eachside wall having an eiongate slot formed in close proximity and parallelto its lower edge receiving the bead ofthe can therein.

2. A support containing a can comprising a plurality of upstanding sidewalls of generally rectangular shape forming a box-like structure openat its upper and lower ends, saidv side walls being integrally joinedtogether with one of said side walls having a laterally projecting endedge extension overlapping the marginal end edge of the adjacent sidewall and xedly secured thereto forming a band, the last mentioned sidewall and the next adjacent side wall each having a handle member rigidtherewith, each handle member being of U-shaped configuration and beingjoined only at the extremity of its legs to its correassepes v f Y edgeproviding portions ofsaid side walls below such slits engageable beneaththe bead of the can within the support.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 45,848Morris Jan. 10, 1865 702,776 Clement June 17, 1902 778,688 Marsh Dec.27, 1904 1,131,579 Wallace Mar. 9, 1915 2,331,038 Mcller Oct. 5, 19432,335,345 Libit Nov. 30, 1943 2,378,750 Carew June 19, 1945 2,617,676vKinney Nov. 11, 1952 2,771,236 Claif et al. Nov. 20, 1956 2,801,743 GeenAug. 6, 1957

